Today Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7), who chairs the Public Safety Committee, released the following statement on two recent tax proposals. Last week Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Position 8, Citywide) announced a new proposal to lower city taxes for approximately 90% of Seattle businesses that currently pay the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax to raise revenue to protect funding to essential services and programs. On Tuesday, Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9) introduced a resolution to allocate up to 25% of any approved public safety tax increase to fund treatment and addiction services.

“I’m grateful for the proposals brought forth by my colleagues and the Mayor. Looking forward to the City’s budget and the forecasted deficit, I’ll be focused on how these plans fit into a broader tax reform strategy. I believe this approach is essential to position us to make long-term progress on critical priorities like public safety, public health, homelessness, and increasing affordable housing.

“We’ve made great strides over the past year, and it’s crucial that we keep working together to continue this momentum by supporting our criminal justice system, bringing onboard more police officers, and expanding our evidence-based diversion programs. I’ll be engaging in discussions to see how we can advance all of these goals.”

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